The Rose
by Erika
Summary: In honor of their years together as Master and Padawan, ObiWan gives QuiGon a special gift.


**_Title_**: The Rose

**_Author_**: Erika

**_Rating_**: G

**_Summary_**: In honor of their years together as Master and Padawan, Obi-Wan gives Qui-Gon a special gift.

**_Time Frame_**: Obi-Wan is 20

**_Spoilers_**: JA

**_Category_**: POV & mush

**_Disclaimers_**: The Star Wars universe and all of its characters belong to George Lucas, I'm only borrowing them to have a little fun and I promise to return them unharmed (well, at least mostly unharmed). I'm making no money off of this and this is written for entertainment purposes only.

**_Feedback_**: Please! It'll help me get through the long hours of biology/anatomy homework that lie ahead! =D (firedrake88@yahoo.com)

**_Archive_**: Jedi Apprentice, Early Years, Wolfie's Den, JAFD, The Guardians of Peace, Telly, and anyone who has any of my other stories. Anyone else who wants this, please ask and send me a link to your site so that I can check it out. =)

**The Rose**

**Obi-Wan:**

          The Ezrai is a very ancient and yet very important custom among Jedi Padawans and their Masters. No one can quite say when it first began but it has not lost its significance over the passing centuries. This ritual has remained untouched even through years of changes and hardships that the Jedi Order has faced. It is a day every Padawan dreams of and hopes for – a day that marks the journey of light that their Master has guided them through.

            In decades long past a Jedi Padawan was taken as an apprentice precisely on their thirteenth birthday and trained for exactly fourteen years. As is the case today, training was extremely difficult and the Master and Padawan would invariably experience many challenges together – several of them life threatening. The seventh year of a Padawan's training became important for two reasons. The first of these was that the seventh year of training always coincided with the apprentice's twentieth birthday – the day when the Padawan would leave childhood behind and be officially regarded as an adult. The second and more important reason was that it marked the middle point of their training.

            Although these are two import milestones in an apprentice's journey to Knighthood the Padawans realized that they would not have made it that far without their Masters' guidance and patience. Therefore instead of honoring themselves on this day it was decided that they would honor their Masters. As a way of thanking their Masters for everything they had done and given up for their apprentices, the students would give their teachers a special gift on the seventh year anniversary of their training. 

            The tradition was not named until many years later but it is extremely fitting for the occasion for 'Ezrai', translated into the universal tongue, means 'gratitude' and 'love'. It may seem that a simple tradition was given a simple name but it is very important to a Padawan to be able to show his Master how much he appreciates and loves him.

            Even though a Padawan may be taken several years before his thirteenth birthday and training no longer lasts fourteen years, the ritual has withstood the trials of time and is still practiced today among apprentices. Many students spend all the credits they have to buy their Masters the perfect gift. Some find a precious stone taken from the far reaches of the galaxy while others spend months making their Master's gift by hand until it is the perfect present – crafted from love and dedication. 

            I, however, know Qui-Gon well and know that he prefers simplicity over grandeur. Nothing could embody the last seven years of my apprenticeship in a better way then the beautiful white rose that I picked from our garden. It may seem like a simple gift but it has a very special importance to me and I know that my Master will understand.

            Seven years ago, shortly after Qui-Gon and I rebuilt the trust that I had broken upon staying on Melida/Daan, he and I convinced Master Yoda to give us one of the meditation gardens. The garden was small and had been out of use for many years when Qui-Gon and I first began working in it. It had been overgrown with weeds from years of neglect and held none of the beauty that the other, larger, meditation gardens did. However, over the course of a few months Qui-Gon and I devoted time to working in it between missions and it did not take long to change the garden into a piece of majestic beauty. Since the garden was very small we could not plant very much in it and decided upon a single rose bush surrounded by a circle of beautiful blue lilies. 

            Throughout these seven years of my apprenticeship my Master and I have been through many hardships together and this garden has always been our place of refuge. Whenever we return from an especially trying mission we set time aside to go to our garden and sit together, looking at our beautiful rose bush and string of lilies. It is a place that always seems to calm us – a place where our bond is the strongest. 

            The flowers have seen a lot over the last seven years. I remember that after one extremely trying mission I returned more emotionally and physically drained than usual. Although the mission had been a success, the success had not come without a high price. A little girl that I had become quite attached to through the months that the mission had spanned had been killed days before two warring factions had made peace with each other. The death seemed so meaningless to me and I felt terribly guilty for not being able to save the girl's life. I could not understand why the Force had taken her when she had her entire life of dreams and ambitions before her. 

            One night, shortly after returning from the mission, I awoke from a terrible dream where I relived the girl's death. Troubled and unable to sleep I quietly slipped out of our quarters and made my way into the rose garden. I stayed there, attempting to meditate but failing miserably, for over an hour until Qui-Gon came to find me. When he entered the garden he didn't say anything, he simply knelt by my side and lay a gentle hand on my shoulder. My Master knew that he could not wipe away my confusion or guilt and simply gave me the comfort of his presence. We stayed like that the entire night. 

            Some of my fondest memories of my Master are from that garden. Although we have had to replace the lilies we planted seven years ago many times we have never once had to replace the rose bush. It has thrived magnificently over the years, always bringing forth a batch of beautiful white roses every spring. For me it has always represented my bond with my Master. In the beginning the rose bush was small and timid; much like I was young and inexperienced, but as time past it grew in beauty and in size, just like I grew in wisdom and in strength. To me every rose that appears on that bush represents the fruits of the knowledge Qui-Gon has shared with me. 

            Therefore, today, on the anniversary of our seventh year as Master and Padawan, it only seems fitting that I give him one of the breathtaking white roses that has grown from the very rosebush that we planted together at the beginning of our journey. To me this rose is more than a simple flower – it is everything I have learned from my Master and all the gratitude and love that I have for him in my heart.

            The soft buzzing of an opening door alerts me to my Master's presence. Every morning Qui-Gon leaves our quarters to meditate in one of the Temple gardens. I usually go with him but today I politely excused myself and instead went to our garden to pick the perfect white rose that I had chosen yesterday. When I returned to our rooms I placed the rose in a delicate glass vase and drifted into a peaceful meditation.

            I quickly rise from my kneeling position as Qui-Gon enters my room. "Hello Obi-Wan," he says with a gentle smile, "I trust you had a calming morning meditation?"

            I smile in return, "Yes Master, I did. How was yours?"

            "Mine was very peaceful, Padawan, but I missed your presence at my side," he responds, tugging my braid gently.

            I cannot help the flush that quickly covers my cheeks at this unexpected show of affection and stutter my reply, "T-thank you, Master," I say shyly, ducking my head.

            Qui-Gon tilts my head back up with the tip of his finger, "You are very important to me, my Obi-Wan, I hope you know that," he says quite seriously, his blue eyes bright with sincerity.

            I smile shyly in return, "Yes, Master, as you are to me."

            For a moment we remain silent, basking in the love and caring that freely flows between us through our bond, before I decide to present Qui-Gon with my gift. "I-I have a present for you, Master," I tell him hopefully as I turn around and walk over to my desk where I gently lift the vase in my hands.

            I take a long deep breath to calm my suddenly nervous heart before I turn back around to face my Master. "It is one of the white roses from our garden, Master," I explain as I hand him the vase.

            Qui-Gon accepts the vase from me wordlessly; holding it in one hand as he gently touches one of the soft, white pedals with the tip of a finger. For many long moments he remains completely silent and I find myself fearful that he doesn't understand the meaning behind what I have given him. 

            As the seconds turn to minutes I begin to worry that he is disappointed in my choice and almost want to apologize for his not comprehending, but then he looks up. I can see it all in his bright eyes – his unspeakable gratitude, his love, and most importantly, his understanding. In his gaze I see all the trials he and I have endured before reaching this point, all the misunderstandings and disagreements, as well as the knowledge that the love we share between us – the love of two close friends who are more than just Master and Padawan – makes it all worth while.

            "Thank you, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon finally speaks, his voice is thick with emotion and our bond is overflowing with his love, "this is the best present you could have ever given me." Even though his words are simple and few, for me they are enough for I can hear what he has left unspoken behind him.

            In the passing of an instant the strength of our bond has grown, nearly crushing me in the magnitude of its power. It fills my mind now, an incredible white light of friendship and love that is like nothing I have ever felt before. Like the beautiful flower that Qui-Gon now holds in his hands, it has bloomed and grown to be something quite wondrous indeed; something that we will always take with us, something that can never be forgotten, something that will never be broken.

The End


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